Are businesses doing enough to help build an ‘inclusive Singapore’? What more should businesses, the government and workers themselves do to achieve this ideal?

I am encouraged by the fact that companies have embraced corporate social responsibility more so in recent years. However, more can certainly be done to build an ‘inclusive Singapore’.

The recent initiatives in Budget 2012 that were announced by the government a few months ago are very positive steps in creating an inclusive society as they predominantly target the low-income groups, older workers and those with disabilities – while offering employers incentives to hire these minority groups.

Having said that, however, there needs to be a greater paradigm shift in the workplace so that more employers adopt a spirit of inclusiveness and do more to create or redesign jobs to cater to the unique requirements of persons with disabilities and older workers, for instance. With the latest government push for increased productivity, companies should also find ways to improve processes and raise productivity so that the wages of those on the lower-paid rungs can be elevated.